Western-Australia isn’t the typical location that springs to mind for freestyle but with a huge coastline to explore and a variety of conditions, it’s an area primed for revelation. Severne teammates, Amado Vrieswijck and Dieter Van Der Eyken hit the road with searcher in chief, John Carter, on a mission to find new spots and reboot old ones in a freestyle frenzy.
HEADING OUT
Amado and I have travelled quite a bit together during the competition season, so we know each other pretty well and had always talked about a trip together. I usually stay at his house in Bonaire, so it was about time I invited him to my house on wheels to explore Australia for a month to put our Severne freestyle sails through their paces. After twenty-nine hours of flying, Amado made it all the way from Bonaire to Perth where I was waiting outside the airport, ready to start our road trip. After a quick stop at the loft to grab sails and meet Ben Severne, re-packing the van and shopping to stock up on provisions, we were good to go!
As the wind had completely died on the west coast, there wasn’t really any other option on the table than driving down south to Esperance, the perfect way to introduce Amado into the Australian driving routine. After I allowed Amado one night of sleep in Perth, we drove off the next morning at 5am for our 800 km quest to catch a few days of wind in Esperance.
ROAD AHEAD
After a few hours on the road, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, I thought it was about time to allow Amado to drive on the left side of the road and give him a taste of the tarmac in W.A. After driving for about 20 kms. dead straight and slightly uphill, we made it to the brim of the incline. At the top Amado gave me a desperate look. Looking ahead the road was as straight as it could be and seemed to go on forever! Something Amado would not be used to coming from Bonaire. A good laugh followed and in the next two hours of driving we managed to take just three corners!
ESPERANCE
Denne historien er fra Issue 364 - April 2017-utgaven av Windsurf.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Issue 364 - April 2017-utgaven av Windsurf.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
New School
Slingshot’s windsurfing brand manager, Wyatt Miller, has noticed that kids are drawn to playing with wings and puts forward an interesting case as to why he thinks this could help entice them and others into windsurfing.
Changes
Wave sailor Flo Jung reflects on our changed world during his lockdown in Germany.
THE LAST WAVE
Lockdown stirred the creative juices of reader Björn Alfthan, who peers into the future to present a fictional story set in the wild waves of Norway, five years from now.
STILL IN THE GAME
After a horrific fracture in his leg from a crashed aerial in 2018, Alessio Stillrich is back! John Carter talks to the highflyer from Gran Canaria about his move to the Simmer team, recovering from injury and how he learned to windsurf in Gran Canaria!
MOVE ON UP - GET ON THE FRONT FOOT
This month we look at how our front foot weighting can affect and improve different aspects of our main windsurfing moves.
SOUTH' KIPA
Nik tweaking it over home waters.
A NEW NORMAL
On a trip to La Tranche-sur-Mer in France last year, Tris Best estimated over 80% of the windsurfers were foiling. This summer in Portland Harbour, foiling activity has increased dramatically too he reports. With the market offering plenty of choice to recreational windfoilers, our test team check out some of the latest foil offerings.
TACKING – THE SEQUEL
Having given you time to practice, Harty concludes his tacking series by critiquing various tacking options, including the carve tack, as well as offering solutions to common slip-ups.
‘NO VAPOUR TRAILS TO SCAR THE SKY' *
Realising we may be about to enter an extraordinary period in our lives, Harty decided to keep a windsurf-centric lockdown diary. Here are some of his choice excerpts.
REDEMPTION DAY!
Renowned for its windsurfing and variety of spots to sail at, Kimmerdige Bay is a wave sailing jewel on the south coast of England. Timo Mullen gives a guide to its shores while reflecting on why a recent session there was a reminder that there is no place like home!
